Accidentally saved files to 'Users' folder

[chelsea]

Hi,

I accidentally saved some files to the Users folder of my computer. When I try to delete them, Windows tells me I do not have permission to perform this action. I am the admin on this computer. What can I do to resolve this issue?

Thanks!

 

[m1r2hud]

do you another user account. i just saved files in user folder and deleted them to see what your experiencing. i dont have another account on mine.

 

[davehc]

What files were they, and did you save them to a folder within "username". There is no reason why, if you, as the user, saved them, why you cannot also delete them. Just a thought. I doubt, under the circumstances, if it will work, but have you tried moving rather than deleting?

 

[TrainableMan]

By default C:\users is protected because the machine can have several users and it is protecting you from their data and their data from you.

As an administrator you can change the permissions to grant yourself access. If it is just for one folder then locate the folder in Windows Explorer and right-click, choose Properties, the Security tab.

Now, Is your ID or the Administrators in the list already? Hit EDIT. If you are there then select that, otherwise select administrators. Make note of what the current settings are and then set them to allow. Hit OK and OK again and now you should have control in that folder. Once you move or delete the files then go back and restore the permissions as they were.

 

[Digerati]

There is no reason why, if you, as the user, saved them, why you cannot also delete them. Just a thought.

That was my thought too. Something funny is happening there. As a test, I just saved some text files to my user folder and was able to delete them no problem.

I doubt, under the circumstances, if it will work, but have you tried moving rather than deleting?

Yeah, that will not work because really, when you move a file, you are simply deleting from here and writing to there.

If no luck with the solutions provided, you can try using MoveOnBoot will let you tag the file to be deleted early-on during the next boot cycle, before Windows or any application can set hooks in it.

 

[TrainableMan]

I've never tried MoveOnBoot but there is a similar product in our Freeware DB called Unlocker which I have used a good bit.

Another thing you can get from our Freeware DB is the Take Ownership script. Basically you right-click on a folder, choose "Take Ownership" and it grants you ownership permissions of all the files and subfolders under the folder you select. This basically does what I mentioned above regarding Permissions but more extreme because it dives into every file and subfolder. You would do this if you want permanent control, not something you would restore to normal afterwards. I, and from the sounds of it the others posting here, have taken ownership of the entire Users folder, but I know it's my computer and I don't have multiple users whose private files I should respect, etc. You would have to make your own determination as to whether this might be something you would like to do on your machine.

 

[Digerati]

Yeah, I have used Unlocker too and I would say Unlocker and MoveOnBoot are very comparable. I just prefer MoveOnBoot, but either is fine.